A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Some governors are using state funds to try and close the federal gap in food assistance. In Delaware, Democratic Governor Matt Meyer declared a state of emergency to temporarily replace SNAP benefits with money from the state. Governor, about 11% of Delaware's residents receive SNAP benefits. Will they all be covered, at least for the time being?
MATT MEYER: Yes, they will. One in 9 Delawarians rely on SNAP - 119,000 people. Two-thirds of them are families with children. Thirty-six percent are family members who are seniors - or have family members who are seniors or with disabilities.
MARTÍNEZ: And for how long will they be covered for in Delaware?
MEYER: Well, you know, I made a promise to our people that we're going to do everything we can, look at our budget and move money around to feed our people as long as we can. Normally, SNAP assistance is provided one time on a monthly basis. A card is loaded electronically. We're going to do that weekly, just looking at what the federal government is doing. We don't believe this is a state financial responsibility, but as a governor, we need to stand up and lead in this time and make sure in one of the wealthiest countries in the world our people literally don't go hungry.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you think Delaware will be OK at least through November?
MEYER: We will definitely be OK through November. To be honest, there's a...
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
MEYER: ...Parking lot project where - that's in our budget to build a parking lot - $20 million that will get us enough money to get through November. We're willing to shift money around, put that parking lot project on delay, and we're looking at other things too if necessary.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, SNAP's a federal program. So how do you direct state money to SNAP residents? Don't you need approval from lawmakers to do that?
MEYER: Yeah. It's a great question that's much more complicated behind the scenes than I have time to explain. But putting money on a card that's sort of federally designated is not easy. We're technically not doing it under the SNAP program. We're originating a new program during the state emergency that effectively fills the card with resources based on state rules. So we're trying to make it as simple as possible for SNAP users, for mostly working Americans who are struggling in this time to have money on their cards. So Delawarians with SNAP cards, they're not going to see any difference from October to November except that their benefits will be received on a weekly basis and not once on a monthly basis.
MARTÍNEZ: Would that money - would that state money be money that you'd want replenished by the federal government? Is that something that you would want to do?
MEYER: I think it's a federal responsibility. For 86 years, since the food stamp program was created in 1939, this has been a federal responsibility. So, yes. I think we're one of 25 states. We have a fantastic attorney general, Kathy Jennings, who was among those who sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying, you have the money to pay this. And if and when federal money does come, either through this discretionary fund at the federal level or through later refunding, we're going to use that money and use it to fill our state coffers.
MARTÍNEZ: The USDA says it can't legally use contingency funds to cover regular SNAP benefits. What's your response to that?
MEYER: Well, we'll see what the court says.
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
MEYER: I think it's - I have a legal background, and I think there have been several times before when this administration, you know, in my nine months in office, have said things with a hundred percent certainty that turned out not to be legally accurate. So we're a country of law, and we'll see what the judges say.
MARTÍNEZ: Governor, do you feel that the state of Delaware is being let down by the federal government? Not necessarily just the administration, but Congress - the House, the Senate and the White House put together right now.
MEYER: It's not lost on me that on the same day I declared a state of emergency, something no governor in our state's history - the First State - no governor has ever had to do. Nvidia surpassed $5 trillion in market capitalization. We are a rich country at a time when stock markets are hitting records. This is a total failure of leadership. And I'm hoping - I've also made it very clear to the people of Delaware, to state legislators, other elected officials that this is probably not the first chip to fall. There's more coming.
I recognize that this stalemate in Washington is largely about health care. And right now, lawmakers could decide to end the shutdown and fund programs like SNAP so governors like myself don't have this problem. But then we're going to have another huge problem that health care premiums will be doubling for millions of Americans. So these are all self-inflicted crises. And in a wealthy country like ours, we got to find a better way.
MARTÍNEZ: Just a few moments left, Governor. How do you square that with your constituents when they ask you, like, why is this happening? What do you tell them?
MEYER: Well, first of all, I tell my constituents you're going to eat. You're going to have food benefits that we've had for as long as the SNAP program has existed. So I tell them my job and our job as state leaders is to protect you. In terms of what's going on in Washington, listen, there's a Republican executive. There's a Republican president, President Trump. There's a Republican legislature. The courts - Supreme Court is largely controlled by the Republican Party. This is the direction the country's going in now. It's not the direction that I want it to go in. I appreciate that Democratic legislators are fighting, and we got to fight. But while we're fighting, we got to make sure people can eat.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Democratic Governor Matt Meyer of Delaware. Governor, thank you.
MEYER: Thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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